Love Never Dies
by Loveless1018
Summary: Dayni is a young girl growing up in Radient Garden. What will happen when tragedy strikes and she is left an orphan and her only friend disappears in a Heartless attack? My first longish fic. R/R Rated T for now I will try to update once per week, depending on my schedule. I DON'T OWN ANYTHING! There, now I don't have to put that at the beginning of every chapter. :P
1. Prologue

The rain poured down in icy sheets, almost making it impossible to see anything. A lone figure stiffly trudged through the downpour. Her shoulders shook violently with each shuddering breath she took.

She was attired simply in tight black pants that flared out around the ankles of her dark blue thigh high boots. She wore a tank top that had once been teal, but was now dyed crimson with her blood. A jagged line of fresh blood traced a lazy course from just under her left ear, down her neck to her right shoulder, and from there meandered to he left side just under her ribcage. She had unruly dark auburn waves for hair that hung in drenched coils, just barely brushing her shoulders. Her amber eyes were red from exhaustion and crying. With each shuddering breath, she sobbed out one word. A name.

"Lea."


	2. Happier Times

Dayni scuffed the toe of her new pink boot on the ground. At 4'8", Dayni was not of impressive stature. She had auburn hair that was cropped so it barely reached past her earlobes, hanging in tight ringlets. She had striking yellow eyes and lips the color of a ripe raspberry. She was clad in a black tank top with "Chicky" in flowing script over the chest and pale blue, very worn and faded jeans.

He was late. She scowled irritably, but there was no real anger behind her expression, only a barely contained excitement. She shifted her weight from her right foot to her left and sighed, scanning the meadow where she waited for what must have been the fiftieth time in the last ten minutes.

"Where are you?" she muttered sourly, "I swear…"

A slightly sarcastic, over confident voice interrupted her threat. "You know," it said, "I've always said that it ill becomes an innocent girl to swear."

Dayni spun toward the voice with a grin, her scowl forgotten in an instant. "Lea!" she cried, laughing, "You meanie. You said you'd be here an hour ago!"

Lea shrugged, a smirk playing about his pale lips. His emerald eyes glinted with amusment. "Sorry, I had to get something," he apologized teasingly, "Unless you would have preferred that I show up without your birthday present."

Dayni rolled her eyes, crossing her arms childishly, for she was a child, ten years old that day. "All right," she pouted, "I forgive you, but do you always have to do everything so last minute?"

Lea laughed. "That's just how I roll," he retorted mildly, "Now, don't you want to see what I got you?" He grinned cheekily at Dayni, his only girl friend. She was only a few months younger than him, but he always teased her about being a little girl.

Curiosity got the better of Dayni. "Ok, what did you get me?" she inquired, trying not to seem too excited. Lea was her only real friend, so he was the only person beside her parents and little brother who would give her anything.

Lea flashed her a bright smile. "Close your eyes," he ordered superiorly, "And no peeking!"

Dayni again rolled her eyes, but complied, knowing that Lea would not divulge her present until she did.

"Ok, now open them."

Dayni opened her eyes to find Lea dangling a silver necklace with an orange and red flame pendant in front of her face. Her amber eyes sought his and she squealed in delight, snatching it from his hand. "Thank you!" she cried, clasping it around her neck, "It's beautiful!"

Lea blushed and scratched the back of his head. "I saw it and thought you would like it. I guess I was right," he replied with a self satisfied smirk, pointing his thumbs at his chest, "Now, why did you want to meet me out here?"

Dayni clapped her hands in delight. "Guess what my dad gave me for my birthday! Guess!" Lea opened his mouth to guess, but Dayni kept talking. "A sword!" she continued, face flushed with excitement.

Lea's mouth dropped open in shock. "Seriously?" he asked incredulously.

Dayni nodded proudly and drew a short blade from the scabbard that had previously housed a wooden sword that she had painstakingly made two years earlier. The blade was not much more than a long dagger, totaling twenty inches from tip to pommel.

The blade was made of some sort of blue metal and had twisting flames engraved on it. The cross guard was curved back around her small, delicate hand and was colored just a shade darker than the blade. The hilt was wrapped in navy blue leather strips that crossed each other along the length. The pommel was shaped like an upside down heart and was colored flame red.

"Isn't it pretty?" Dayni giggled.

Lea nodded. "That's a nice looking blade, but the real question is: Can you use it?" He grinned challengingly.

Dayni grinned right back at him. "You know I can kick your butt any day."

The two friends spent the rest of the day sparring against each other. Dayni won every match, but Lea insisted, as always, that he let her win.


	3. Tragedy Strikes

_AN: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. :) My brain fizzled out about halfway through it and I had to take a break and work on another one-shot that I'm planning. Anyways, Enjoy!_

* * *

_Two Years Later…_

Dayni knelt in the wreckage of what had been her home. Now at twelve years old, she had grown her hair out so it hung to the small of her back in limp curls. Her pale face was offset by her dark sculpted eyebrows and amber eyes. She was clad in a blue tank top with a purple heart over her chest. She wore dark skinny jeans with black thigh high boots. Her eyes stared blankly ahead, not quite comprehending what she was seeing. "I did this," She whispered numbly, "Why can't I control the monster?" A solitary tear trickled down her cheek.

The day had started off so well. What had gone wrong? Why did she have to get in a fight with her mom? It has been such a trivial thing.

Dayni had wanted to be enrolled in the public school instead of being schooled at home. She had tried to calmly share her reasons for wanting to school, but her mother had taken a personal offense at the request.

One Thing had led to another, and before she knew it, Dayni had transformed into a dark creature with black eyes, fangs, long talon-like fingers, and glossy black feathered wings.

Dayni stared unseeingly at her bloodstained hands. Not a drop of the blood that covered her was her own. It al belonged to her family, whom she had murdered.

Her head snapped up at a small pained gasp that came from a splintered pile of furniture. She rushed over to the pile and worked feverishly to dig to the source of the noise. Splinters dug into her palms and larger pieces left gashes in her hands and arms, but she didn't care, welcoming the fact that her own blood would now stain her hands as well.

Her hands flew to her mouth as her frantic efforts uncovered a small, bloodied hand. When it moved slightly, she redoubled her digging efforts, her own blood now freely flowing out of the gashes.

At long last, she uncovered a young boy, not more than seven years old. In fact, he would have been seven in one month. He had blonde hair so fine that it almost seemed to glow. It curled slightly, framing his face, and would not have looked out-of-place on a cherub. His cerulean eyes clouded with pain and terror when Dayni first uncovered him, but that faded as soon as he saw her face. His own face was mutilated almost beyond recognition both from the attack and from being trapped under the furniture.

"Zane," Dayni whispered in horror, gently gathering his bloodied form to her.

"I knew you'd come to protect me," he coughed weakly, "Are you ok? That monster was really scary. Did it hurt you?"

Dayni shook her head, her vision swimming with tears. He was concerned for her. "No, the monster didn't hurt me," came her choked reply.

Zane tried to say something else, but he never got the chance. His head fell back with a small sigh and his eyes stared lifelessly at the ceiling.

Tears streaming down her cheeks, Dayni hugged his limp form to herself. She rocked Zane's body gently, just like she always did when he had a nightmare and sought refuge in her room. She murmured softly to him about all the things she wished she could have done with him. Traveling to see other worlds, hikes, and races. Whatever she could think of.

She went on like this for several hours, long after his body had grown cold and stiff. Dayni had fallen into silence and now only sat numbly rocking her little brother's corpse.

A footstep behind her made Dayni turn her head sharply, a motion not unlike a prey animal turning its head only to see a predator's teeth close over it. Lea and Isa stood in the doorway, overcome with shock at the sight that greeted them.

Dayni scrambled to her feet after gently laying Zane down on the floor. She turned and flung herself into Lea's arms, sobbing convulsively.

After overcoming his initial shock at her actions, Lea rubbed her back comfortingly, at a loss for words that could do anything to comfort his friend, so he simply held her as she cried.

Isa glanced around the ransacked room and eyed Dayni in askance.

Lea shot his friend a glare. Now was not the time for questions.

Isa curled his lip and turned and strode away. Someone had to tell the adults that the Isakis had been murdered.

Dayni's sobs gradually calmed, changing to sniffles. She raised her eyes bloodshot from crying, to Lea's face. "I did this," she whispered numbly, "It's all my fault. My family…"

Lea shook his head defiantly. "Dayni, you did not do this, the monster did. It is not your fault!" he returned sternly, "You can't blame yourself for this or it will destroy your life. They wouldn't want you to blame yourself, and neither do I."

Dayni studied his face through her tears. Lea and, by extension, Isa were her only friends. The only ones that she could count on to be there when she needed help.

"Promise me," she whispered, her voice thick with yet unshed tears.

Lea glanced down at her quizzically. "What?" he asked, puzzled about what she could want him to promise.

"If I ever attack you, you wouldn't hold back, you wouldn't hesitate to defend yourself," she replied, her eyes once again filling with tears.

Lea stared at her in shock for a moment, unsure of what he was supposed to say to that. "It won't come to that, so I refuse to promise. There is no way I could ever keep that promise." He looked at her tear-streaked face.

Dayni had been just a friend for so long, but Lea wanted to be more than just friends. This just seemed so… right, holding her in his arms like this, even under these tragic circumstances.

Dayni pulled away from him slightly, irritation weighing heavily on her brow. "You sound so confident, but what if it does come to that? You're my only real friend! I couldn't live with myself if I killed you too!"

"And I couldn't live with myself if I hurt you under any circumstances, even if it could mean my death. I'd take my chances running," he retorted, grasping her shoulders.

Dayni shook her head sadly but did not push the subject farther. "Where did Isa go?" she mused.

Lea looked behind him where Isa had been standing, but there was no sign of their blue haired friend. "He probably went to tell the adults about your family…" his voice quieted before returning forcefully, "You don't know what happened. You didn't see anything. You were out of the house when the monster attacked."

Dayni shook her head. "But I'm dangerous!" she protested, "I should tell them what really happened. Everyone will be safer if I'm locked up."

Lea shook his head emphatically. "No! You did not do this, so you will not go to jail for it! This is not your fault!"

Dayni sighed, it was useless to argue with Lea when he was like this.

Lea paused, his expression softening. He had made his point.

* * *

Just hours later, after answering countless questions about the incident, Dayni stood, surrounded by her neighbors, in front of three hastily dug graves. She couldn't tear her eyes away from the smallest coffin. Her brother's last words kept repeating mockingly in her head. He had been the one dying, yet he had been concerned about her.

Due to the rather mangled condition of the bodies, the adults had felt it best to bury the Isakis quickly and simply.

Dayni wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep a brave front on for all the spectators. She could feel their inquisitive, pitying gazes and she heard their whispered conversations.

Why couldn't they just shut up and let her grieve? They were already deciding among themselves who should take the "poor thing" in. Dayni curled her lip in disgust.

"Just try," she thought to herself, "I won't stay, so it would be best to just leave me be." She turned away from the graves. There was nothing here for her but heartache. She bleakly wondered if the scientists who worked in the labs in town could find out how to cure her, but she dismissed that idea immediately. She wasn't going to be anyone's lab rat.

No, from this moment on, Dayni would take care of herself. She would only be responsible for herself.

All this she pondered and decided as she walked away from the simple graves and trio of coffins. None of the adults noticed her leaving, so absorbed as they were in planning what to do with her, and for that she was grateful. It saved her from having to explain where she was going when she wasn't even sure herself.

As she struck out toward the woods where she had often retreated when she needed space to think and breathe, she heard a voice call her name. She spun around, but relaxed when she saw that Lea was the one who had called out to her.

"Dayni, where are you going?" he asked, studying her face.

Dayni turned away. "Wherever I end up, I guess," came her cryptic and cold reply. She resumed walking.

Lea stared after her for a moment, not sure of what to say. He sprinted to get in front of her and stood blocking her way forward. "You're not leaving on my watch. Not if I have anything to say about it."

"Well, you don't," she retorted, "so stop following me before you get hurt like they did."

Lea shook his head. "If you're leaving, I'm coming with you. There's no way I'm going to let a baby like you wander the world alone. You need a man to protect you," he replied stubbornly, grinning slightly in an effort to alleviate her bad mood.

Dayni's eyes filled with tears. "But what if I can't protect you from myself?" she inquired brokenly, hastily wiping at her eyes.

Lea's expression hardened. "I'll take my chances," he replied.

Dayni sighed, looking at her stitched up and bandaged hands. "Promise me that we'll be friends forever and we'll always stay together?" she ventured, her expression tortured as she looked into his face as though her life depended on it.

Lea nodded and impulsively pulled her into an embrace. "Always," he murmured. For a moment, he considered the possible repercussions of his next action, but decided to go for it anyways.

Dayni was about to speak when Lea suddenly captured her lips in a kiss that was tentative, almost timid. After getting over her initial shock, she brought her hands up and tangled them in his hair, deepening the kiss. She had been enamored with Lea for much of their friendship but had wanted him to make the first move. She finally broke away from the kiss when it felt like her lungs would burst.

"Always," she repeated his words, "I'll stay for you." She laid her head on his chest, pressing herself as close to him as possible. His arms were her strong fortress. She felt incredibly safe in them.

* * *

From that day on, Lea and Dayni were completely inseparable. You never saw one without the other. Dayni avoided all other people. Although her well-meaning neighbors tried to foster her into many of their homes, she would disappear after only a few hours. Not even Lea knew where she spent the night or got food.

Eventually, the adults stopped trying to pin Dayni down. It was clear that she wasn't going to stay anywhere.

Also during this time, Lea and Isa, formerly inseparable friends, grew apart. While Lea's face brightened every moment he spent with Dayni, Isa's countenance would darken when Dayni was around. He stopped seeking Lea's company.

This went on for two years. During that time, Dayni hardly spoke to anyone but Lea. She had lost weight and begun to develop into a young woman. Her hair was again short, barely brushing her shoulders. She now wore tight black pants with tall dark blue boots and a teal tank top.

Her demeanor had also changed drastically. She hardly smiled, even with Lea. Sure, her lips would curve up and she might laugh, but inside she cried every day for what she had lost.


End file.
